Sui Ryuu
by The Ryuu Victoire Tea Party
Summary: She was the shame of one clan, and all who knew her pitied her. Her name is Hinata. Locked away within her, however, was a secret her father hoped the world never discover. -Warning- extremely short chapters
1. 1 Snowfall

She remembers a snowfall, long ago, the first snowfall of the year. It was her birthday. Her mother wasn't there, so she hummed a little song to herself as the caretaker brought her an extra piece of cake. She was still rather small then, her hands to small to fit in the palm of the old woman.

"Happy birthday Hinata-chan." The old woman said in a dry, raspy voice that Hinata feared a little.

"Thank you, Oba-san."

That winter, Hinata received from her father a small pearl and jade hairpiece that looked like a flying fish leaping over the wave.


	2. 2 Cousins

She's four, and she meets her cousin Neji for the first time. He smiles, and Hinata feels that her heart is ready to burst with happiness.

"Wanna play tag?" he asks her with a great big smile, and she can only smile back, giddy. Their games put the amazing sound of laughter in the Hyuuga's main courtyard, laughter that warmed the heart of any one who cared to listen.

A few weeks later, he no longer wants to play with her. A few months later, his words become vicious, and her eyes water as she remembers them.

A few years later, he hates her. She can't understand why.


	3. 3: Rain

**Sui Ryu**

**3: **Rain

* * *

She loves the rain, because it makes a pretty sound on the roof. It's like a soft drumming from far away, and Hinata likes to think she can dance to it. She never dances, never far enough away from the prying Hyuuga eyes, but softly taps her toes to the beat.

"Focus on the lesson, girl. I won't repeat myself." her father snaps, and she looks up to see him frowning.

She looks back down to her scroll, seeing the various forms of the kanji for "water" and "rain".

She has to memorize them, and silently wishes the rain would fall through he wooden roof and hide the tears that she can't stop from falling.


	4. 4: Fireworks

**Sui Ryu**

**4:** Fireworks

* * *

There is excitement. Hiashi's second daughter is born, and she is a child of spring.

Hiashi smiles for the first time, tears in his eyes from incredible sadness and joy. His second daughter comes into the world screaming and trashing, with so much life it's as if the sun itself was burning in her soul.

Amongst everything, there is the little Hinata, holding her mother's hand. The lady smiles, her face pale and her fingers trembling.

"Oh, my little pearl. You are beautiful."

Those were the last words, and years later, Hinata is sure they were a dream.


	5. 5: Sight

**Sui Ryu**

**5:** Sight

The first time she uses the Byakugan, she feels a rush of blood to her head and her heart leaps as she sees the world around her, and she dizzily falls to the ground.

The first time she uses the Byakugan, her father is no where near to see her accomplishment. She sees far past the gates of the compound, into the city, high in the sky and she sees people and children and birds and dogs and lights and houses...

Her stomach flips like a fish and she feels as if she could fly.

She runs to her father's office, and he is in a meeting. She sees him through the wall and the door, and politely knocks, nearly tripping over herself.

She sees her father turn his head and look beyond the wall, and she sees him turn his head and continue to speak.

Her Byakugan fades away, and all she sees is the dark wood panelling of the door.


	6. 6: Challenge

**Sui Ryu**

**6: **Challenge

_Several years later..._

The sound of her breathing was all she could hear. Her breathes were shallow and shaky. Her palms were hot in this warm, end of summer weather, and her mouth felt frozen, like she couldn't speak. Hyuuga Hinata was frozen with fear, frozen in a sauna.

If that was even possible.

"Class, this is Hyuuga Hinata. She will be joining in with us for your last year here at the Academy. Hinata, please take a seat." Mizuki-sensei said loudly.

Hinata did so, quickly and blushing, barely looking at the rest of her classroom.

_This is gonna be a challenge, _she thought.

Later on, they're in the school yard, doing training exercises in basic offensive strategy. Iruka and Mizuki-sensei, very interested in what their new student was capable of, took her to the side and ask her to repeat some (very) basic taijutsu drills, both in defensive and offensive strategy.

_Well...at least it's easier to do well here than at home._ The dark-haired girl thought, yet something was bothering her. It wasn't her two new teacher's imposing attention, or the fact that every eye in the class was glued on the new arrival (at any other time, this would have greatly **greatly** bothered the shy and reserved girl). It was probably the heat. She was wearing some very warm clothing, she noted.

Finally, Iruka-sensei seemed satisfied with her performance and told her to stop.

"I want to see you in action, if you don't mind, Hinata." he smiled at the newcomer. Hinata blanched. She hated sparring, even when it was a friendly or training match.

Mizuki-sensei, as if sensing her discomfort, smiled. "Don't worry. It's just to see what we have to work with here, because we don't know you as well as the others."

Iruka nodded to the dark haired girl in agreement. He turned his neck around and barked over the playground:

"Naruto, get your lazy bum over here!"

A boy who'd been lying lazily on the grass with two other boys (and to Hinata's surprise, a small white dog!) propped himself up on to his two elbows and looked at the Chunnin teacher, visibly annoyed.

"Since you don't wanna do the exercises I set out, you get to help me with Hinata." Iruka then called out at the other two: "Kiba, Shikamaru, get to work! NOW!"

Naruto made his way over, hands shoved in his bright...orange...pants.

He was wearing a dark T-shirt and has the brightest blond hair Hinata had ever seen.

She felt very uneasy under Naruto's unimpressed gaze.

"So. Whaddya want?" he whined, scratching the back of his head.

"You are going to spar against Hinata."

"What? No way. I ain't fighting no dumb new girl. I wanna spar Sasuke or somethin'. She's no chalenge."

A strange sort of bitterness clenched around Hinata's heart. And she felt like everyone could hear him, and everyone would hate her because of what the blond said. She felt like running away. Going back home. Home was cold, unlike this swealterin place, but at least it was safe.

She tugged nervously at the thin, white fabric wrapped around her head.

"Afraid, Naruto? After all, she is a Hyuuga, one of the most feared clans of the region." Iruka smirked knowingly, giving Hinata a confident look.

Hinata suddenly felt like crying, but kept her face as blank as she could, like she was taught.

"What?" suddenly cried Naruto, snapping to attention. "Whaddya mean?"

"Don't you know who the Hyuuga are, Naruto?" taunted another girl who was observing from afar. This brought a few unwelcome laughs out of the assembled class, who was obviously not doing their training.

"FINE. I'll fight her."

It was sooner than Hinata expected, and his first punch, a rather ungraceful attack, caught her off guard.

Letting years of well trained reflexes quick in, Hinata quickly sprung into action, used both hans to immobilize his arm and twist it so that he was taken off guard by the sudden pain. She quickly used her left foot to trip him over. She was much faster than him, she realized, and a little taller. She used this to her advantage.

He was on the ground, his pride wounded but his skin unscratched.

There was a silence amongst the observers. Hinata didn't know if this was good or bad, but suddenly her heart fluttered in an odd way. And she wasn't sure what it meant...but she had this sinking feeling she couldn't shake off.

He got up and before Iruka could stop him, had lunged for her angrily.

She stepped to the side, dodging him with fearsome easer. The dark haired girl suddenly realized she wasn't feeling so hot anymore. Instead, a rush of cool water seemed to be flowing over her skin, and she regained her calm. She rarely felt like this...and somehow she couldn't remember another time she was this calm.

They sparred seriously, exchanging blows and blocks and trying to disable the other. Hinata didn't activate her Byakugan or any special chakra technique, knowing that would be an unfair advantage. She found it hard to keep up, unable to pinpoint a pattern in his technique. He wasn't using a single technique, but rather a lot of techniques he was (almost) inventing on the go.

And suddenly, she crossed eyes with the blonde boy. And suddenly jumped back, afraid of what she saw in his eyes, in her reflection.

Finally Iruka-sensei interfered before Naruto could get in another hit, or start something stupid.

"Naruto, enough. This is a sparring match, remember?"

Iruka-sensei's hand on Naruto's shoulder was enough to automatically calm down the blond boy. As Mizuki hurriedly got the others to mind their own business, Iruka-sensei looked to Hinata and smiled. "Good. Thank you for that demonstration."

Hinata looked down at her hands, and clenched her eyes shut.

"Haha!" Laughed Kiba as Naruto went back towards the other boys. "Naruto got beat by a girl!"

"I did not!"

"Did too, moron."

"Dog breath."

As Iruka-sensei and the rest of the class continued working on their exercises, Hinata closed her eyes, heart clenched with fear as she thought about what might be in store ahead.

With a silent prayer to the heavens as she opened her eyes, she hoped her father wouldn't notice anything.


	7. 7: When The Bird Won't Sing

**Sui Ryu**

7. When The Bird Won't Sing

There is a quiet silence that grows within her. She knows what is coming. Her father warned her countless times, warnings that she heeded so strongly, they silenced her.

She doesn't speak much, and yesterday's little "event" at the Academy has now cast a vow of silence on her feeble voice.

Her cousin stand besides her, not in support or companionship, and his presence there scares her. Her father will return soon, with other members of the Hyuuga council and she fears that her days of happiness, as insignificant and precious and rare as they are, are over. For good this time: the Hyuuga have finalized the decision.

"We did not think this would be necessary, you know." Neji says, breaking the silence. His voice seems as hardened as ice.

_We?_ thinks Hinata morosely. So it's true, then. Her fingers are clenching, and she yearns to put her face in her palms and try to forget, to disappear, to pretend this is nothing but a bad dream.

She had hoped no one would notice, that this wouldn't happen, but they did notice. Hinata couldn't understand how. She'd taken great care in regulating her chakra level and hiding all traces of...well...

She didn't like thinking about it. The Byakugan could see through solid objects and see energy, and Hinata sometimes suspected it could read minds, too. Of course, the dark haired girl was slightly paranoid when it came to her family.

Suddenly, the door slides open and three, tall figures dressed in the traditional Hyuuga colors walk in, their phases painted over with that stoic look Hinata spent her life avoiding.

Neji puts his hand on the short girl's shoulder and pushes her down, not really gently, until Hinata is sitting on her knees.

The two men that had come in with her father go on either side of a cricle traced on the ground, a circle of which she is the center of.

Neji leaves the circle, and stands next to Hiashi who places his hand on the boy's shoulder in an almost affectionate, fatherly way.

And Hinata feels tears tracing their way down her pale cheeks, and her ears perceive a sort of trance-like voice coming from the two Hyuuga elders outside the circle.

And as she feels the burning chakra being summoned and surrounding her and seeping into her skin, she bends over herself until her burning forehead, clear and uncovered, touches her knees.

And finds she can't scream in pain, even as she can feel the air leaving her throat.


	8. 8: Lonely

**Sui Ryu**

**8**: Lonely Soul

There's a certain silence in town on this particular day. It's the last day of the weekend, and tomorow work starts up again, and people are enjoying the last of the sunny days. The wind is colder. A sure sign that winter is approaching, autumn announcing it's arrival.

It's as he walks towards Ichikaru after school that he sees her. The new girl. She hasn't talked once, at least not when he was around, since she arrived. All are intrigued by her, but no one has the guts and go ask the Hyuuga girl anything. Naruto was the only one who'd had any contact with her at all, and he found a sudden jump in popularity as people asked him what he thought of their little match, and Sasuke even asked him once, if he'd been able to discern any weaknesses in what seemed to be the pure Hyuuga taijutsu style.

Naruto had no answer to that. He'd been a little...distracted during that battle, focusing on something else at that time. He'd also been a little irritated.

The blonde boy looked at the girl again. Without a doubt, it was her. Her blank eyes, her blank face, her dark blue hair. She had a bandana wrapped around her forehead. Her clothes weren't the same everyday, but everyday she had a white piece of cloth wrapped around her head. She had short hair. She wasn't particularly attractive, but then again she always looked like she was seeing someone die.

Not very cheerful, Naruto concluded.

He saw her walk away, hunched over herself, and probably deep in thought. He looked where she was going, and looked down another street, where Ichikaru was.

Sighing, he slowly made his way towards his favorite ramen stand, and the image of a sad figure buried itself in his mind. As he got there and ordered his ramen, he couldn't focus on it's delightful taste... he could only think of one thing.

She just seemed so goddamned lonely.  



	9. 9: October Day

**Sui Ryu**

**9**: October Day

It's a cold day, and she pulls her face deeper into her jacket's collar, and shoves her fists into her pockets. She's walking the long walk into town towards the Academy. Another day of pointless schooling of things she knows already. To her surprise, she finds her classes ridicoulously easy.

She supposes that, at least, to these other ninjas-in-training, she must be somewhat above the norm in terms of skills. She performs adequately in class, and so far, apart from the first day, has acted like a member of the Hyuuga clan should.

And still, it seems so empty, so insufficient.

As she turned a corner, she accidentally walks into someone.

And that someone had bright blonde hair. And that someone was crying.

As she steps away from him, she recognizes him as Uzumaki Naruto, a classmate of hers. She is so shocked to see him cry though, she forgets all the lessons on keeping a stony face and lets her eyes widen and her mouth fall open.

She has never seen anyone else cry.

He whirls around and stares at her, equally taken aback, but recovers far more rapidly that she does.

"Oh... it's you." he says, trying not to sniffle.

She looks down to the ground, and closes her mouth. For a moment, she wonders if he knows her name. Than she wonders why he was crying.

Before she realizes what she is doing, she opens her mouth, looks up, and asks:

"Are...Are you hurt?"

He sniffles once, then again, a shaky smile forming. "You _can_ speak! I knew it."

Hinata stares at him blankly.

He hurriedly wipes his cheeks with his arm, and smiles at her.

"I'm not hurt."

Hinata nodds, looking up the road, to where the next cross-section is, and where she must take another right to reach the Academy. It is funny. Not once, has she seen him in the morning on her way to school, in the month she has gone.

He follows her gaze.

"Hey...do you want to do me a favour?" he asks her suddenly, smiling widely, catching her pale gaze.

He doesn't flinch at the sight of her white eyes, as most non-Hyuuga do. Even Iruka-sesei, her own teacher, is unnerved slightly by her gaze.

She looks at him, patiently, waiting.

"Tell Iruka-sensei," he says, taking her silence as agreement, "That I won't be coming in today."

Hinata watches him, curiously. She wants to ask him why. Does she have the courage to do so?

She bites her lip and places her white gaze on her feet.

"Okay. Naruto." she add his name in there, rolling it off her tongue quickly, shyly, as if she not dare say it.

"Great! Thanks." the blonde gives her a great, relieved smile, and starts walking away. "See ya."

Hinata watches him leave, uncertain. Slowly, she feels her feet move, mechanically, over the road and she finishes her trip to school, turning a right and walking about fifty meters before the Academy comes into view against the clear autumn sky. It's a beautiful October day.

She enters the school and weaves her way uneasily through the halls. She doesn't like how many other kids are in the school hallways, but has no other choice than to go past them. She doesn't attract their attention.

Once she enters class, she see Iruka-sensei there, at the desk, going through some homework. Some other students are there already, notably the Uchiha boy and the Aburame bug kid.

She hesitates. She doesn't want to speak to Iruka-sensei. His easy smile overwhelms her. She goes to sit at her desk, wondering if she should tell her instructor or not. Iruka looks up to greet her as she walks across the classroom and Hinata feels her heart clench as she remembers the blonde's smile, and how dark his eyes were.

She walks towards the chunnin teacher, and Iruka-sensei hides his surprise. Hinata has never actively approached anyone. Not even a teacher.

"Uzumaki Naruto has asked me to tell you that he will not be attending class today." the words come out in barely anything above a whisper, but Iruka hears them.

He frowns, wondering why that blonde lazzy wise ass has decided to skip. Hinata watches his face, interested in the emotions he lets through. Her teacher looks down at his papers, and suddenly understanding dawns on his face. "Of course..." Iruka mutters, before craning his neck back to face Hinata properly. "Thank you, Hinata."

The girl blushes, and without so much a squeak, returns to her desk, and sits down, waiting for classes to start.


	10. 10: Nightmare

**Sui Ryu**

**10**: Nightmare

There is water everywhere. She drowns in it, she feels her lungs filled with it, she feels it in her eye sockets, she feels it at the tip of her fingers...

Her mouth and eyes are closed shut and she resists the urge to scream. Hiashi-sama has forbidden it, he told her to stop.

He stands tall, before her, his hand holding Hanabi's. "Good job, Hanabi. You are making excellent progress." His voice is proud. So are his eyes.

And there is Neji, standing a childish smile on his face as he asks her to play hide and seek. "You hide and I'll count to ten."

Suddenly his smile is nothing but a twisted grin and she is running for her life down to a river, and she is looking to hide from her cousin but his smug and cruel words follow her everywhere. But she doesn't want to go hide in the river.

_But you are already drowning. What does it matter?_

No!

_I need the water._

"Leave me alone!"

And it's her own, shaky, panicked voice that wakes her up in her cold room. And as she stares at the wooden walls, she fleetingly wonders _why_.


	11. 11: Thunder

**Sui Ryu**

**11: Thunder**

Pearls of sweat glistened on her forehead and her pale, delicate hand moved to brush the stray hair falling in front of her eyes.

It was very warm weather for this time of year, and she closed her eyes, thinking of a cool breeze that simply wasn't coming. She heard light footsteps on the ground somewhere to her right. Then it was silence, then it was another step that tread on the ground lightly, and Hinata allowed her shoulders to tense.

In the very back of her mind, a strange and stressful feeling crept into her skull.

"Sister..." the voice barely carried above a whisper, and Hinata made her words inaudible. She craned her neck to the right, and lifted her palm to touch her burning face. It felt like a sudden fever had painfully spread under her skin.

Suddenly, a small shape entered Hinata's vision, and the girl stopped squinting and watched as the young Hyuuga heiress walked slowly towards her.

"What are you doing here?" the young girl asked, authority saturated in her voice.

The question puzzled Hinata. Why would the heiress care?

The smaller girl frowned, and Hinata felt her heart speed up, and she felt her pulse thunder under her skin and a horrendous, terrorizing feeling of anguish spread through her mind.

"Please..." she muttered. _Oh please make it stop!_

But those words never left her lips and suddenly, the feeling grew worse, and she felt like her skull was going to break.

Hinata opened one eye, and she saw the young heiress standing in front of her serenely. Hiashi was surely proud of his daughter's proud gaze, devoid of caring or kindness.

_Make it stop!_

The heat slowly seemed to be washed away by a gracing feeling, and Hinata felt her entire body relax, relieved of the intense pain. She realized she was lying on the ground face first, and that every muscle in her body was numb from pain, but a feeling akin to cool water on a hot summer day spread through her, and Hinata let her breathing even out.

She did not make any move to get up, or even turn her head to see the young Hyuuga girl.

Instead, she heard a steely voice say:

"It didn't work," and footsteps.

And HInata was alone again.


	12. 12: Ramen

**Sui Ryuu **

**12. Ramen Noodles**

She lifts her hand tenderly, rubbing her forehead, and sighs. She wishes she could take the bandages off, and let her forehead cool in the breeze that flutters about the streets. Along with the wind are the millions of smells a village as large as Konoha creates. She does like this village, despite the looks she sometimes receives and despite the resentment many people have for the Hyuuga. But sometimes, she allows herself to walk out of the Academy, and she lets go, just a little, of her stony Hyuuga face, and allows herself to be just another student.

And she loves it. It's like a split second of freedom, and she relishes the moment, savours it, and despite its ultimate insignificance, the flutter in her heart makes it worth it. She walks in town, away from her father's frosty gaze. The walk from and to school is her favourite part of her day: it's lonely, sure, but it's the calm, peaceful kind of loneliness where she can just breathe.

She steps lightly, forgetting about where she's going and why. It's an ordinary day, there is really no reason for her cheerfulness...

And suddenly, there is a voice that startles her out of her reverie.

"HINATA!!!"

The girl nearly falls over in surprise. She wasn't paying very much attention to her surroundings.

There's a blonde and two dark haired boys in front of her, as well as a chubby boy and a dog. They're all grinning.

The dark haired boy with a ponytail looks at her, his eyes constantly judging: she recognizes him as Shikamaru, by far the smartest boy in her class.

"Jumpy, aren't you?" In her mind, she suddenly finds herself resentful: in her mind, she dares him to call her an inadequate Hyuuga, another failure, but he stays silent. The blonde speaks again, arms flailing about and the most happy smile on his face.

"We want to invite you to some ramen!" Naruto says, exited.

Hinata stares at them. The fat boy, Choji, shudders at the sight of her white eyes.

"Come on! You know you want some! Ramen's great!" Naruto exclaims.

Hinata hears their words, but understanding them is another matter.

She blurts out a shy, barely audible: "Why?"

The four boys look at each other. Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "I knew this was a stupid idea." Kiba glares at him.

"Shut up, you moron."

Choji speaks up, his voice just as squeaky as hers. "We think you're a cool person!"

The three other boys look at him, murderous looks in their eyes.

Hinata wants to cry, but her heart isn't heavy.

Naruto looks at her, smile back on his face. "Wanna come, or not?"

She looks at the road, and knows where it will end.

And she decides to let the pretend continue. She smiles shyly, and nods.  



	13. 13 Rain Part Two

**Sui Ryuu **

**12. Rain (Part Two)**

A thick sound of rain falling on the wooden rood permeates the air around her in her small room. It's bare, with just a mat to sleep on, a few scrolls on the walls, some flowers by her window and two chests that contain all of her belongings.

She's shuffling through the chests. She's lost the bandages she uses to wrap her forehead up. She cannot leave this room without them. It's unthinkable. She panics.

She's late to school, which never happens, but she was very tired the night before and overslept about an hour...

She sleeps in the Second Branch House, with many of the other family members in nearby rooms, and still they let her oversleep. She lets out a frustrated sound, she cannot leave without something covering her forehead.

She stops, sitting on her knees, and thinks. Where did she put the bandages last night, before going to sleep?

Suddenly, she looks through her covers again, unmaking her carefully made bed, and wonders how she missed the white gauze...it's there, hidden in her sheets. Hurriedly, she wraps her head hastily, and runs out. She's so late! Iruka-sensei will be very disappointed... She looks up to the dark sky, smelling the rain and keeps running.

Thick drops: heavy rain falls, drop by drop splashing noisily as she runs out of the Hyuuga grounds, and into the village. She slips once, the ground a lot more slippery than she expected.

She arrives at the Academy after moments, and relief courses through her body. Now tired, her heart thundering, she enters the gate, and rushes through the hallways.

Finally, the classroom door, and she raises her hand to knock, and realizes how wet she is, her hair and clothing soaked and thick droplets of water trailing down her forehead and face...

Her eyes widen, realization suddenly hitting her.

There's is nothing covering her forehead...the bandage must've slipped off in the rain.

She'd tied it on so carelessly, in such a rush...Oh, she should've been more careful! She wants to hit herself, and she wants to cry. She can't walk into the class, she can't show her face...

She feels someone on the other side of the door, and realizes Iruka-sensei must have noticed her there, and she wills her feet to move, to hide, to leave, but somehow, she can't.

Muffled through the door, she hears her teacher's yelling: "Naruto! That's the last time, I catch you again and you're going to regret your sorry ass!"

The door opens abruptly, and Naruto is held by his collar by a very shocked Iruka, and his harsh face disappears into confusion when he sees the girl. To her horror, she sees their eyes trailing up her face, to her wet, bare forehead...

They can see, they are not blind.

Silently, tears fall down her face, but she's so wet already from the rain that you can't see it.

Her mind is blank, she doesn't think anymore. She can't. She simply runs.

She runs as fast as she can, the opposite way, to hide, to run, she leaves. She's going to hide in the rain. The hallways disappear, the gates are far behind.

Her sensei and Naruto are far behind, as she runs through small streets and through parts of the village she's never seen, never walked through. No one notices her, no one is out in the rain, except her.

Suddenly, there's a bridge, and a voice that calls out her name.

And she stops.


	14. 14 Water Under The Bridge

**14. Water Under The Bridge  
**

She stands there, suddenly stopped.

He sighs, thankfully. And makes his way towards the bridge. His student is by far one of the strangest kids he's ever had the pleasure to teach. She's delightful: she knows everything she must, is obedient, but she is so distant, and painfully shy. She's locked up in a glass cage where she sees all but none really see her...

Her presence in his class confused him: he'd never understood why she'd been sent to the Academy: most Hyuuga prefer teaching their young separately from the rest of the village.

It was the mark on her forehead (that he should've deducted was there, but he didn't) that made him realize why she was being taught by outsiders of the village. She'd been wearing countless bandanas and bandages around her forehead, hiding the infamous and not to mention inhuman Caged Bird Seal. She'd revealed it to him by accident, and yet he couldn't understood why she'd run. There was no shame in her position: she was born into the Second Branch, as unfair as that was, her fate was no her fault.

The rain doesn't let up, it still falls violently, crashing brutally against the earth and buildings and river, and there is nothing in the air but rain and more rain. And Hinata has closed eyes, standing there, and Iruka hears her faint crying.

Probably, she hadn't shown the seal to anyone yet. The sudden revealing, the sudden knowledge of her status to her class (Iruka knows Naruto will blab about it, and to his knowledge, her forehead had been free of the mark at the beginning of that year) must have brought the situation crashing down on her...

The seal must be pretty recent then, Iruka deducts.

It's a horrid symbol. A horrid branding. It's barbaric, even to the standards of a military village like Konoha.

He wants to explain to her that everything will be alright. He wants to walk forward and reach her on that bridge and tell her she's going to be just fine, but realizes that someone else has reached her first.

To his immense annoyance, he notices that the little pest Naruto had followed her as well.

He wants to yell at the boy, but somehow, Iruka just stands there, to watch his two students...What is he waiting for, for the boy to make the girl cry? Well, the girl's already crying so it wouldn't matter... he notes morosely.

The rain blurs his vision, but he is certain of what he sees next.

Naruto doesn't laugh or yell or gesticulate like he normally does. The boy isn't even talking. He's just standing there, fists in pockets, looking up to watch her face. Hinata is still facing the grey sky. It's subtle, a passer-by wouldn't have noticed, but he reaches out for her shoulder, and the sudden contact makes the girl jump.

Moments pass, and Iruka simply watches, forgetting that he's supposed to be teaching a room full of brats at the moment and forgetting that Naruto is an annoying kid with a loud voice.

He watches in awe as the blonde surprises him again, and watches as Hinata crumples in the blonde's arms, her stoic demeanor and Hyuuga eyes gone to show a young dark-haired girl who is just as lonely as the blond, despite being part of one of the most tight-knit clans in the village.

He wants to creep closer, to intervene, but he decides against it, remembering his class, and decides to leave them. He gives them a day off, he realizes. And hopes that Naruto won't say something ridiculously stupid.

He walks away in the rain, a strange feeling in his chest, and he wishes the world wasn't so cruel.


	15. 15: Blood

15. Blood

The smell of blood was in the air, as fire rose in its smoky shape. The heat was unbearable.

A voice rang out amongst the yellow and orange flames, a voice so horrid and ghastly and deep it shook her very being, even as she slept.

The voice wasn't human, and neither was the language. She didn't bother understanding...she willed the fire to stop, for the burns to heal, for the cool water of spring to rush through and appease the anger.

But Hinata awoke, forehead blistering with pain and sweating.

And a faint noise from the outside, gradually building in screams and panic.

The fire! She wasn't dreaming, it was real!

Before she knew it, she was on her feet, out in the yard, looking up at a red and black sky. The smoke was thick, she could feel it burn her skin and the heat was suffocating her.

She awoke again to peaceful and cool night, realizing it was nothing but a dream. Her hands gripped her sheets, and she gazed upon the dark wooden walls, breathing heavily, heart pumping thunderously in her chest.

But from behind, from the very back of her mind, she shuddered, and had an ominously horrid feeling pass through her veins.

Something was horribly wrong, and Hinata spent the rest of the dead night wondering what.


	16. 16: Ramen Stand

They start going to the ramen stand after school most days, the four of them (Kiba, Naruto, Chouji, Shikamaru) and her. They are silly boys, prone to goofing around, pranking, doing impromptu impersonations of Iruka-sensei over the ramen. She never has any money on her: her father isn't the type to let her have an allowance. Naruto, realizing this after the third or fourth time, starts ordering ramen for her, telling the old man over the counter to put it on his tab.

Hinata blushes, and tries to be as indignant as her painfully shy self can be, and Naruto brushes all that away.

"You're my friend, Hinata-chan. And you really gotta start loving ramen if you're gonna be my friend!" he adds in that last last bit cheekily, but Hinata realizes the purity of his words. Again, tears well up in eyes, and yet her heart doesn't feel heavy. She keeps it in, and instead tries to smile.

Naruto beams when he notices the faint sign of happiness on her mouth. He turns to the rest of the guys, and joins in on their conversation. Hinata feels slightly left out, as usual, but enjoys watching them. They look so happy.

She smiles to herself, her little mouth curved upwards, and the old man behind the counter notices. He notices a lot of things: the way the little girl's pale hands are trembling, the way her eyes glance to the blond's golden hair, her smile she can't hide but is too shy for...

The boys are rambunctious and young and frankly, not observant at all. Well, maybe except for Shikamaru, who realized from day one that Hinata is completely disarmed around Naruto. Whatever that means will probably be up to their hormones as they age. The other boys aren't thinking about that yet, but Shikamaru is. He's thinking about Hinata, and Ino, the daughter of his dad's friend who is loud and annoying.

At least Hinata is quiet, think Shikamaru, his eyes half closed as he slurps his own noodle cup.

But right now they're just kids.

Right now.

And the present leaves them be.

For now.


	17. 17: Vicious

The three top girls in the class were all so different, and all so strong.

There was Yamanaka Ino. Tall, blonde, loud- she was crazy annoying and crazy strong for a girl that age, and terrified the boys.

Then was Haruno Sakura. Soft pink locks of hair, her slightly prominent forehead hiding a brain that no doubt rivaled Shikamaru's- her skill in genjutsu was unparalleled amongst the other girls their age. Given her lack of military heritage and her humble background, this girl was going places, even if she didn't know it yet herself.

Then there was Hyuuga Hinata.

_What a joke_. Thought Sasuke, his black hair gleaming in the slanted, afternoon light. Iruka-sensei had split up the class into pairs, and he landed weirdo here. Just his luck.

Sasuke barked orders (snarled, rather) at her, critical, spare with his words. She was fast and efficient, but her hands trembled slightly and her heart was faltering. Hinata, poor little HInata, was afraid of her dark haired, very intelligent and very strong training partner.

_For being a Hyuuga, she's weak._ Thought Sasuke, stretching out his shoulders a little, preparing himself for the next exercise: sparring. _Why they sent her here. To the Academy._

Hyuuga Hinata wasn't focusing on him, her chin tucked in, her ears listening to their sensei's instructions. Usual stuff, no blood, no use of extreme force... Sasuke was bored. He wanted to go home and practice something more interesting.

Iruka-sensei blew a whistle, and around them all the pairs of kids launched themselves from the tips of their toes, at each other, some yelling and others grunting.

Sasuke looked at Hinata, who had her head in the clouds.

"Hyuuga." muttered Sasuke respectfully. Hinata snapped to attention.

"I beg your forgiveness," the little girl bowed, getting into position. Her remorse was apparent in her extreme politeness. It got on Sasuke's nerves. What a boring, spineless girl.

He nodded, "Ready now?" he asked, a little gruffly. Hinata nodded, blinking.

Her technique was pure Hyuuga. Sasuke knew she had a three, maybe four year headstart in term of mastery of basic techniques and style. This angered him.

And suddenly his fist found itself on her cheek, hitting her as hard as his thin, pale arm could handle.

He wanted to break this little girl, this vile girl who was so ungrateful to her doting family that had taught her so much. Why was she so mediocre? Why was she still so much better than him? Angry, Sasuke edged himself back an inch, before launching his foot out rapidly, catching her off guard (this was a hands-only sparring session). His foot connected to her stomach, and Hinata did not utter a sound as the breath was launched out of her.

Hinata was on the ground, cradled over and cowarding, barely holding in tears. The rage in Sasuke's eyes was too much to handle.

"Sasuke, that's enough!" called out Iruka-sensei, running over to Hinata, trying to pry the girl up. The piece of fabric covering her forehead had blood splattered on it.

Sasuke was standing in a crowd of his silent classmates.

"You bastard! You're going to pay for that, fucker!" roared Naruto, launching himself at Sasuke.

Mizuki-sensei quickly intervened, literally lifting the little blond kid right off the ground. "Stop that Naruto. Sasuke, I want you to go wait in our classroom. Iruka-sensei and I will see you there shortly."

Sasuke turned around and left, and as he stepped away from the playground his heart grew heavy, and his anger trickled away, and he was suddenly intoxicated with the nauseous realization of what he'd done.


End file.
